Cheap Thrills
by Wxnderland
Summary: In which Nakiri Erina is overwhelmed and Yukihira Sōma is more than happy to be her distraction.
1. Chapter 1

_(Go ahead and cry little girl,_

 _Nobody does it like you do)_

Nakiri Erina has always had a thing for swing sets

There wasn't any genuine reason behind it. They weren't nostalgic to her, nor were they of any real importance in her life.

Still, something about them had the young princess of Totsuki continuing to pump her legs, urging the metal chains to swing her further and further away from the ground.

Who knows? Maybe it was the thrill.

Maybe she was just bored.

It was rare, for her to take a moment to just sit back and _breathe_.

She could feel her thighs burn as she finally allowed her legs to cease their constant thrusting, unused to the harsh labour that she was putting them through.

She learnt from previous use that the swing besides her was loud and high-pitched, while the one she was one was somehow miraculously silent. It was strange considering her particular swing had not been refurbished as far as she knew.

 _When did it start?_

Cooking was fun. Despite the fact that her gift of receiving 'the gods tongue' was with her from when she was still an infant and the role of becoming Tōtsuki's princess was thrown at her from a young age, Nakiri Erina had loved cooking.

So, when did it stop being something enjoyable and turn into a chore?

When did her passion for cooking morph into reluctance to even step foot into a kitchen.

Erina could feel her lips twitch upwards as she felt the breeze pick up and carry her long blonde hair from behind her shoulders before setting her head back and enjoying the ride.

Maybe she needed a break

"Yo, Nakiri!"

…And there goes what could have been a peaceful, self-reflecting evening.

Angling her head towards the side, the blonde is met with Yukihira Sōma waving from a short distance near the entrance of the playground.

She's not even sure what he's doing in the park in the first place and her eyes are already rolling from his sheer presence alone.

To his credit, Yukihira's denser than a stack of bricks whenever anger is directed towards him, but somehow he's able to sense sadness in a heartbeat? He's suddenly got a sixth sense for the emotion and Erina can't fathom how he does it.

The look on his face when he stares at her makes her wonder if she's crying so she brings her hands up to her cheeks and realises her eyes are drier than a fucking bone.

Her head cocks to the side in question when he makes his way through the gates of the empty city park and Erina's amethyst eyes drag from his face to the convenience store bag and a half finished pink smoothie being clutched lazily in his hand with mild interest.

If she weren't feeling so empty she would be listening to what the majority of her brain was saying and politely scream at him to fuck off. A few weeks ago, she would've done just that. But this was the current broody Erina, The Erina whose brain had abruptly decided to have an existential crisis midway through her Sunday afternoon.

How absurd.

He's smiling lightly down at her and she can feel her swing losing its momentum before her feet are finally able to hit the ground.

She doesn't know whether she's disappointed over the loss of motion in her swing or over seeing Sōma's face. She settles for both.

Sōma doesn't seem to mind her lack of response and takes a seat on the swing besides her own and Erina's already rolling her eyes before she's even realised it.

It's become a habit whenever Soma's around and they both know it.

She can practically see the cogs turning in his head

"Shouldn't you be at a meeting or something?" He asks, despite grinning she can sense his unasked question and she frowns

 _What happened to make you reckless enough to skip your own duties?_

Her legs are already moving to gain speed as she begins to swing, Soma snorts but when she hears the chains start squeaking from besides her she feels her lips twitch upwards.

"I had a day off" she lies and Soma just gives her a blank look of _Oh, really?_

It was concerning that he's able to catch her lies quicker than Hisako can and she doesn't really know how to feel with this sudden realisation or knowledge.

He sips his drink through the straw and nods absentmindedly, looking straight ahead. "So you decided to ride the swings?"

 _He plays along with her lie_

She doesn't really feel the need to answer and he's already aware of her mood judging from his unnatural mild and tamed persona.

Her throat feels unbelievably dry and parched so her gaze is suddenly intense on his rapidly emptying cup

Soma seems to realise her dilemma because before she knows it, his beverage is being thrusted in front of her face causing the blonde to wrinkle her nose and stare at the object with both of her eyebrows raised in surprise.

"What? You wanted some right? That's why you were staring" Soma looks confused, cocking his head towards the side in question and Erina feels her cheeks heat up in swift embarrassment of being caught in the act.

Damn him and his random perception! What ever happened to the dense Yukihira Soma who couldn't even distinguish her sarcasm 99.7 percent of the time?

Instead of relieving her throat that was disturbingly drier than the Sahara desert, Erina raises her head haughtily and crosses her legs in defiance. Her regular facade finally taking over.

"Oh? And what makes you think I'd want your drink" she rolls her eyes, flipping her hair expertly behind her shoulder while Soma unknowingly smirks behind his drink at the notion.

It's gone by the time her eyes meet his again and Soma raises an eyebrow "Well why else were you staring at it so intently? If you don't want it, I really will finish it" he says bluntly.

Erina's cheeks flare up again "Go ahead"

Deliberately slow, Sōma brings the straw of the drink back up towards his mouth "You sure?"

"Just drink the damn drink, damn it!"

She's almost certain that if he weren't carrying anything in his hands, Sōma would have held both his hands up in mock defence at her outburst before finishing the smoothie.

Erina can practically feel herself deflate as the other side of her brain scolds her for giving into her damn pride as she stares at the now emptied cup being discarded into the nearest trash can.

Her pride wasn't worth dying from dehydration, damn it.

She doesn't even realise the way her eyes have doubled in size in shock when she sees the empty cup stacked on top of the overflowing trash can.

"Alright, I can't watch anymore. Let's go" he's up from his seat in seconds and offering his free hand towards her.

The princess of Totsuki doesn't even bat an eye as she impulsively grabs a hold of his out stretched hand without hesitation and is hauled up to her feet.

It isn't until she's a few feet away from the gate of the playground, that she actually realises her actions and suddenly roots her feet back down towards the ground in protest.

"Where?" she demands

"To the smoothie shack I got my drink from, obviously" he states, rolling his eyes as if she had just asked him a second grade math question, before tugging at her hand again.

She's given up on stopping him because she really is unbelievably in the need of a drink and Yukihira's hand is warm and this feels so very much like one of the shoujo manga's she's been reading so she abandons her pride and they begin walking side by side down the semi-crowded street.

Erina is at a loss because in all honesty a bottle of water would do her much better than a blended concoction of fruits and milk but a part of her is also somewhat mesmerised by the orange beverage that he was previously drinking.

Ugh, decisions.

"What did you get?" she asks, instead

He's keeping her mind occupied and she appreciates that enough for her to humour him

 _He's a distraction and he knows it_

He grins at her suddenly, looking hilariously sheepish "I kind of got a vegan smoothie out of curiosity. It's pretty rare in japan so I thought it'd give it a shot. It's called the 'sunshine smoothie' mainly tropical fruits based. Mangos, pineapples mainly."

Erina raises an eyebrow "It's not than rare. Smoothies don't necessarily have to include any dairy products."

He shrugs "Yeah, I wasn't really aware of that beforehand seeing as in Yukihira's, the closest thing to a smoothie we do are milkshakes. And that itself is sort of rare. Dad only sells them during the summer." He grins, embarrassed.

Erina's somewhat amused by his justification and finds herself nodding along to his explanation even though it's plain absurdity in her mind. "That's pretty bad. Not knowing the difference between a smoothie and a milkshake"

Sōma just laughs nervously "Yeah, I guess so"

It's now Erina's turn to stare at him blankly "You do realise that most smoothies don't include dairy right?"

Sōma shrugs "It was new to me"

She's already rolling her amethyst eyes and he just grins good naturedly.

Somehow, they've gotten to the point where he's talking about his failed elementary school art project and she's told him about how Alice once tried to drown a pot of glittered paint because it was pretty while she's covering her mouth and is toppling over with laughter.

Her chest hurts and when she takes a breath in it feels so good

They're not talking about Totsuki, or shokugeki's or even cooking in general and if she's to be honest with herself—

 _She finds that she doesn't mind_

She _likes_ talking about how weird it is that slugs are just snails without homes and that May twenty sixth is apparently 'Put a pillow on your fridge day'

It's foreign a feeling, laughing until her stomach hurts and her cheeks ache from smiling too much as he hands her a cup, grinning with what could only be described as accomplishment shining through his eyes.

Pride? What for?

She snorts, sipping her strawberry smoothie and averting her eyes towards the advertisement displayed on the opposite side while Soma laughs and pays the cashier behind the till.

Her ears are burning and she's not able to fathom why exactly.

So he bought her a drink. So what?

It didn't even taste that good.

And it was cheap

The fact that she was even drinking the liquid was absurd and she could practically sense the unnatural sweetening and artificial flavouring from miles away— but when she spares a glance towards Yukihira, grinning and ordering himself another cup, her face softens

The ends of her lips twitched upwards just for a moment. She could admit it in her mind, at the very least.

 _It was nice_

So when he's gotten his drink, she finds herself suddenly hyperactively aware of how automatically his free hand seems to look for hers before exiting the store.

Erina's cheeks feel like they're on fire when he turns back to face her, grinning and talking about whatever else is on his mind and she's already subconsciously smiling back.

 _Her pride could go fuck itself, he was nice._

 _(I know how much it matters to you_

 _I know that you got daddy issues)_

 **:::::**

 **A/N: This is probably just going to end up as a three-shot series. I just love Sōrina so much ugh.**

 **I'm so excited for season three to be released. I will literally cry tears of joy.**

 _(I know how much it matters to you_

 _I know that you've got daddy issues)_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Whoa. Look at whose back at it again with the inconsistent updates.**

 **Lololol I'm sorry, I suck.**

 **:::::**

 _(I know how much it matters to you,_

 _I know that you've got daddy issues)_

 _Yukihira S_ ō _ma is on drugs_

It's the first thought that pops into her head when she sees what he's looking at

"A subway map? Seriously, Yukihira?"

Her mouth curls up in mild disgust. From what she's been told, trains are horrible and disgusting and riddled with disease.

This had to be a mistake right? There was no way that Yukihira Sōma would be dumb enough to suggest riding in that when she had dozens of family cars with their own divers at her disposal

He must have noticed her distain because he was grinning instantly

"Oh c'mon Nakiri! It's not even rush hours so the trains are relatively empty. Besides, I thought you were having fun"

Her cheeks instantly heated up in embarrassment "Fun? What the hell put that thought through your ridiculously thick head!?"

He shrugged good-naturedly "It's just, this is the most I've ever seen you smile around me"

She doesn't know if she can find a response to that as her mouth drops open in the shape of a small 'o'

"Well maybe if someone wasn't so insufferable—"

"Oh look at that Nakiri, our train's almost here"

Erina squeaks indignantly as her hand is grabbed and a train pass is thrusted into her hand "W-Wait Sōma, when did you even-?!"

Her jaw drops even lower than she had ever thought was possible as Sōma uses his own train pass card and the small gate doors open, allowing him to pass through.

Erina's right eye is twitching as she reluctantly imitates his actions, and puts her pass down onto the yellow card reader provided before proceeding to walk towards him.

Sōma seems to be grinning proudly, somehow managing to ignore her death glare that would have usually made a grown man wet their pants.

"Knew you loved hanging around me"

Before she can even screech at him in protest (or slit his throat for that comment), her hand is grabbed once again and she's being hauled off to one of the platforms.

What's worse? They're running.

 _Running_

For public transport of all things.

Ugh, this was why she liked being an heiress. Transport waited for her.

Sōma's looking astonishingly happy for someone who's running themselves dry to catch a train. Her mind is half registering the sounds of their rushed footsteps, her heeled ankle boots sounding ridiculously loud against the hard floor.

She doesn't even know why they need to be holding hands to be running. Maybe he was just trying to get her to match his speed?

The doors are just about to slide shut but Soma's faster, hopping onto the train and pulling Erina along with him. She yelps and gets pulled into his chest when the doors immediately slam shut, uncomfortably close to her back and she's half worried that her hair was caught in between the doors.

When she glances around, the train is already moving and she's noticing a various looks of disapproval around the carriage from her painfully loud actions.

When she turns back around Sōma's wearing a completely amused grin, despite panting slightly his posture is relaxed as he grips the handles from the ceiling to stay balanced, and his other hand still connected to her own.

She immediately distances herself from Sōma with flushed cheeks and takes one of the free seats available, which to be fair, is quite a lot at this hour.

Sōma rolls his eyes, seemingly unfazed by her actions and goes to take a seat opposite hers before pulling his phone out.

Erina suddenly realises she doesn't have any headphones for this train journey and Soma's given her absolutely nothing about where they're going.

Nothing

Nada

Zilch

When she lifts her gaze back up towards the diner brat he's still so seemingly immersed in his phone that Erina doesn't know whether to be relieved from abrupt the lack of attention or irritated.

She realises she can't even listen to any music without her earphones and pouts.

It isn't until a few more moments have passed before Soma's finally looking up from his phone and noticing the sour look on Erina's face.

He snorts and sits himself down beside her.

They're so close that she's able to hear the music blaring from his headphones and vaguely recognises the song. Distractedly, she reaches across from him and pulls out one of his earphones and plugs it into her own ear.

Sōma just smiles and lets her choose the next song.

 **:::::**

Erina had no idea on just where Sōma's kidnapped her to but she must admit, it's a pretty cosy district.

She doesn't even know if that thought makes sense because she's been alternating between blowing warm air against her hands and shoving them into her coat pockets for the past ten minutes trying to get some warmth to seep into her bones.

But the area Sōma's leading her through feels so warm and welcoming that Erina can't find it within her to not feel uncomfortable.

It's strange really.

The neighbourhood seems pretty average but the soft yellow lights from the street lamps and food stands make her feel ridiculously safe.

When she diverts her eyes away from the lights and towards Sōma, she's greeted with the pleasant view of the back of the black bomber jacket he was currently occupying.

How lovely

He seems to be waltzing through the district as if he owns the place and greeting people who miraculously seem to recognise him in such a fashion that just screams Yukihira Sōma.

She was finding herself uncharacteristically smiling at the way he seemed to be keeping such an upbeat persona throughout all the exchanges.

God only knows she'd probably lose her patience with people in less than half the time it'd take for Yukihira to.

And they've only came out of the train station roughly fifteen minutes ago.

Suddenly, Erina feels her hand being grabbed. A sensation she's become accustomed to when dealing with Yukihira.

It was funny really. A few months ago she would have probably slapped him across the face for assuming that he could be so bold with her.

Oh how the mighty fall

"See that park?" he squeezes her hand and points to the direction with the other. Erina finds her eyes obeying.

"Yes. What about it?"

"It's where I fell flat on my face in the fourth grade and broke a tooth on the jungle gym" He says, seriously

Erina's expression morphs from dumbfounded to her snorting with laughter within seconds

"W-What the hell?" she snickers

Sōma grins, enjoying the sound of her laughter and suddenly he's telling her more stories.

Stories about how he tried to serve customers experimental meals that weren't on the menu as a child and getting smacked with a wooden spoon by his father for it.

Stories about how he had purposely put salt instead of sugar into cake batter and instant coffee instead of cocoa when he was twelve because he wanted to prank his classmates

Stories about how when he was in a school play back in elementary school, his teacher had deemed him so incompetent at acting that he was forced to play a doorknob.

They just kept spewing out of his mouth, one after the other and they're both laughing so hard in this warmly lit neighbourhood.

He doesn't want it to stop

Her entire face is filled with happiness as she's holding her stomach trying to catch a breath under the warm hue of a random streetlamp.

Sōma finds his heart skipping beats and cheeks heating up because _holy shit_ she's beautiful and he's in way over his head.

"You're such an idiot!" she's still laughing, wiping away her tears. But she's much calmer than she was when he told her that his father had put bleach into his shampoo once and how his hair turned into uneven shades of blonde and ginger.

"Yeah," Sōma finds himself smiling solemnly at her

"I really am."

 **:::::**

In all of her seventeen years of living on planet earth, Nakiri Erina had no idea how to handle the situation she had managed to land herself into.

She's spoken to Ambassadors of several countries, cooked for celebrities, her skill had even given her the opportunity to occasionally leading classes from time to time at Totsuki Academy!

…And yet she hadn't a clue on how she was supposed to react to Soma's 'brilliant idea'

There was, Yukihira Sōma in all his glory vandalising an abandoned wall in the middle of nowhere.

Erina couldn't believe her eyes. She knew that Sōma was a moron but this was exceeding even her expectations on how stupid he was.

He was humming as he violently shook one of the cans that he was holding "Oi, Nakiri! Pick a colour for my masterpiece" he grins while Erina could feel her eyes double in size at the notion

"What?! Sōma, are you insane- no, wait. Don't answer that because you are in fact, insane! No normal person in their right minds would—"she was promptly forced to put a stop to her ranting as he threw a can at her.

"This building's said to be demolished in like a month or so" he rolled his eyes and she fumbled to catch the offending object.

"B-But—"

"Just pick a colour, Erina"

Her cheeks heat up indignantly "You cannot be serious right now!"

"Erina"

"PURPLE, DAMNIT SOMA!"

He laughs and grabs the purple can and shakes it "You've gotta lighten up, Nakiri"

She's glaring at his now turned back in vexation. The audacity.

Huffing, Erina crosses her arms and turns away "Always knew, you were secretly a ruffian" she mutters

Sōma pays her no heed, instead pulls the red handkerchief makeshift-face mask on, covering his nose and mouth and focuses on his piece.

Despite her reluctance to participate in such a scandalous activity, Erina's interest is still piqued and she finds herself begrudgingly angling her head in order to gain a better view of Sōma's so called 'masterpiece'

"What the—is that me!?" her jaw drops at the sheer audacity

Sōma just cackles, marvelling in her reaction to his drawing of an angry faced Erina in a chef's hat.

"Yeah. What's the matter? You don't like it?"

Erina feels her eye twitching and before Soma has any time to react she's already grabbing the red spray paint can (which was the closest) and is drawing a circular face with huge spikes as hair.

Sōma snorts as she draws a goofy facial expression onto it and some question marks around it.

"C'mon Nakiri, at least mine's realistic" he's snickering in amusement when she gawks at him

"Mine is too!" she glares "Excuse me but, just HOW many questions did you ask me about Middle Eastern cuisine earlier this month?!"

The redhead at least seems to have the decency to smile sheepishly and Erina nods to herself in satisfaction "Yeah, that's what I thought—"

"You didn't deny that mine's still pretty accurate" he smirks

"YUKIHIRA SOMA!"

He was rewarded with the red spray paint can to collide very nicely to his skull

 **:::::**

Erina sniffs. She's sort of at a loss here

Of course after Yukihira had decided to throw her off of her righteous path and lead her to the life of crime, she demanded that he throw away the evidence of empty cans (ignoring how he spray painted their names onto the walls, because that was _maybekindofcool_ ).

He bought her some cheap hot chocolate to help battle the cold late January weather and despite once believing that non-gourmet food belonged in the trash she can't help but believe that this was the best fucking hot chocolate she ever had.

 _No, it's not because Sōma was the one to buy her it, get your head out of your ass_

But now, he's suddenly leading her down the same district as earlier, his hand, ridiculously warm and inviting.

It isn't until he's taken a sharp left and taken a few more steps before coming to a complete stop.

Erina blinks. She's not really sure where they really are. That is, until she's redirecting her eyes from their joined hands to the building their standing in front of and the sign says—

"Welcome to Yukihira's!"

 **:::::**


End file.
